Newcomer Justine Bryd picked up the Shamrocks' first goal against Northwood

December 16- The Shamrocks U19s head into the holiday break on a high note, having handed the Northwood School a 2-1 loss at Ristuccia Arena. The win was a come from behind effort, as the Shamrocks picked up third period goals from newcomer Justine Byrd (El Paso, TX) and Dakota Woodworth (Carlisle, MA). Defenseman Samantha Honeywell (Brockton, MA) sparked the offense with two assists, while netminder Madison Litchfield (Williston, VT) turned aside 25 Huskies shots to secure the victory.

“We needed this win” said Shamrocks GM Bob Rotondo. “We’ve been battling hard and just coming up short, so even with the short bench, we were able to generate the kind of complete game we needed to win.”

The Shamrocks carried play in the first period, out shooting the Huskies 11-4. Seven players landed shots on net, with Colleen Shouldice (Rutland, VT) leading the attack with three shots. Despite the tilted ice, the period ended scoreless.

The second stanza was a back and forth affair, with each team seeing numerous offensive opportunities. Litchfield stopped 11 shots in the period, while the Shamrocks tested the Northwood netminder 9 times, though both teams came up empty.

The third period looked to be a repeat of the second, with back and forth play. However, Northwood was able to break the stalemate by jumping on a miscue at the Shamrocks defensive blueline and turning it into a two on one. Litchfield made the initial save but a Huskies forward converted the rebound for a 1-0 score.

The Shamrocks evened the score a few minutes later on the powerplay. Picking up a dump in by Northwood, Honeywell quickly headmanned the puck to Byrd at the blueline. Skating through the neutral zone along the left wing, Byrd crossed into the Huskies zone and using the defenseman as a screen snapped off a shot from the top of the circle that beat the goalie shortside.

With just over five minutes left in the game, the Shamrocks took the lead. Honeywell again started the play, blocking a shot in the defensive zone and then chipping it off the boards to Frankie Giammona (Garden City, NY) who skated it out of the zone. Making a move on the D as she entered the Huskies zone, she briefly lost control of the puck, then regained it and made a drop pass for Woodworth. Cutting to the middle, Woodworth let fly from the high slot and tucked it under the crossbar glove side.